Nitish Kumar's coalition idea

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said in a recent speech in New Delhi that he plans to put together a “coalition of backward states”, floating the prospect of regional parties uniting to form a government that could then divert more national resources to the states they hail from. Is such an idea feasible?

add_main_imageThe accompanying table displays the states that have a per capita GSDP (gross state domestic product) less than the national average and also lists these states’ strength in the Lok Sabha. Together they account for 288 seats in the Lower House, comfortably past the halfway mark of 273. However, it’s unlikely all the seats in a state will go to a single party. So, a coalition of backward states is unlikely to gain a simple majority on its own.